Demonstration procession of students on Karlsruhe’s Kaiserstrasse, photographer unknown, January 20, 1970, digital copy of a black-and-white print. KIT Archives 28010/I 8131.
Unlike other campus sites, at Karlsruhe University the years following 1968 were relatively quiet. Demonstrations, such as the one shown here, were infrequent. Nevertheless, there were instances of student discontent directed at professors. Global political issues, such as the Vietnam War, were the subject of discussion in handout leaflets. The volatile atmosphere at the university is also evident from the rector’s decision to instruct professors not to wear their academic robes during the annual academic festivities.
One notable highpoint for the student movement was the occupation of the university computing center in 1970, which included a demonstration march through Karlsruhe’s city center. However, closer examination reveals that these actions were not aimed against the university or its administration. They were rather a concerted strategic move borrowing methods of protest employed elsewhere to articulate specific academic grievances to the state government. The protesters were concerned about the quality of computer science education. They criticized the capacity of the computing center, which they felt was inadequate. Students demanded more computing time and complained about having to use outdated machines “predating the Biblical flood.” During the three-day occupation, only students had access to the university computing facilities, complete with admission controls and passes for the student security force. The management of the computing center not only viewed this activism kindly, they had indeed instigated it as part of a public relations effort to support plans for purchasing a new mainframe computer. The initiative proved entirely successful: By mid-year, the university was able to sign a contract for the delivery of a UNIVAC 1108 computer for the considerable sum of 21 million deutschmarks. kn